“I spoke to you, but you did not listen. You refused to obey the Lord’s command. You thought you could use your own power. So you went up into the hill country.
But the people turned against the Lord.\par They made his Holy Spirit very sad.\par So the Lord became their enemy.\par The Lord fought against those people.\par
Early the next morning the people started to go up to the high hill country. The people said, “We have sinned. We are sorry that we did not trust the Lord. We will go to the place that the Lord promised.”
But the people did not believe Moses. They went toward the high hill country. But Moses and the Box of the Lord’s Agreement [187] did not go with the people.
“But if a person sins and knows that he is doing wrong, then that person is against the Lord. That person must be separated from his people. It is the same for a person born into the family of Israel or for a foreigner living among you.
\{Then Stephen said,\} “You stubborn Jewish leaders! You have not given your hearts to God! You won’t listen to him! You are always against what the Holy Spirit {\cf2\super [147]} is trying to tell you. Your ancestors did this, and you are just like them!
“You must punish any person that refuses to obey the judge or the priest that is there at that time serving the Lord your God. That person must die. You must remove that evil person from Israel.